


Black Lotus

by Mously



Category: Warcraft - All Media Types, World of Warcraft
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Fluff, Gen, Guy Talk, Herbalism, The Scourge, Villains out and about, When PVP turns into PVE, Worldbuilding, the horde
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 03:36:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29895027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mously/pseuds/Mously
Summary: Titus Rivendare, the Black Baron of Strathholm and Death Knight extraordinaire, has invited Kel'Thuzad out to the Plaguelands to ask a favor. Will he get his chance or will the horde have a say in the matter?
Kudos: 1





	Black Lotus

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place after the siege of Ahn'Qiraj but before the Scourge Invasion.

"What do you think of Stratholm?" Titus asked. 

The death knight stood atop Northwatch Hill next to his horse, Deathcharger. He projected an air of someone without a care in the world. He was handsomely preserved, frozen at the age of forty. The only thing that would give him away as being undead was the slight blue glint in his eyes. 

He looked out over Stratholme. From Northwatch he could see most of the city's landmarks. The smoldering city hall, smoldering theater, even the smoldering docks! The only building that was not smouldering was the Scourge headquarters, which the Scarlets had dubbed The Slaughterhouse. 

"It's a little on fire, no?" 

Titus looked down at Kel'Thuzad. The lich was sitting on his haunches, waiting for some blasted flower to bloom. He wore a glamour. It was supposed to look like he had when he was alive: mid fifties, reddish-tannish skin, shoulder length grey hair and a narrow clean-shaved face that always looked like he was thinking about something. It was a picture of the man he remembered before the scourge. 

They had been riding around all morning gathering plaguebloom and dreamfoil. Kel'Thuzad had been especially keen on the lotuses though. They had already passed over two small ponds full of them because "they weren't budding yet." Apparently they were useless if they hadn't bloomed during the hottest part of the day. 

"Well, the Scarlets found the rest of the rubber depot." Titus said, "so naturally they had to burn it down. It's contained though, the fire brigade saw to that." Julian Rivendare, his father, had owned a rubber plant. They harvested the gum from the trees the greens used to guard in the Hinterlands. It was an expensive process but King Menethil and the Dwarven craft unions were wealthy clients. Now the Scourge was his top client, although the dwarves and gnomes still sent orders occasionally.

"Maybe I'll park Naxxramas over it next month and put it out." Kel'Thuzad said, "what do you think?"

"I think you should find another way to dispose of that slime." 

Kel'Thuzad grunted and continued watching his flower. Rivendare looked away. He had asked the lich to come visit even though he was supposed to be piloting Naxxramas down from the northern sea. It wasn't just a social call, he needed to ask for a favor. His son, Aurius had recently died. They were never close and this business with the Scourge strained their relationship. But, he was still his son. Titus couldn't bear the thought of him becoming some lowly zombie or ghoul. 

"I'm glad you decided to come out, even if we are just picking flowers." He said eventually.

"We aren't just picking flowers," Kel'Thuzad said, "I also raised all those alliance mercenaries we keep finding. What do you think that was all about?" 

The pair encountered several fresh corpses on their way up from Corin's Crossing. They had been killed with weapons or magic then left for dead. It wasn't the work of cultists or there would be no bodies to find. 

"Probably some rouge Amani. I doubt the Scarlets would leave the bodies out for us." Titus replied dryly. It really didn't matter to him. They were just more grist for their warmachine. He cleared his throat. "I didn't just call you out here to catch up. I wanted to talk to you about something." 

Kel'Thuzad looked up from the flower. He had his full-ish attention. Titus hesitated, not sure how to broach the subject, "I…” he couldn’t do it, “heard you were sleeping with Cassandra."

He kicked himself internally for dodging the question. Kel'Thuzad's eyebrows shot up and the bridge of his nose turned a darker shade of red. "Who-?" He stopped himself. Surprise was soon replaced with a scowl. "What about it?"

"I'm surprised anyone would still want to jump your bones." Titus said with a grin. The pun felt right. 

Kel'Thuzad stood and crossed his arms. Titus's grin widened, clearly he had touched a nerve. "I'm still capable of pleasing a woman." the lich said. 

"I suppose that glamour of yours does look pretty good." 

Kel'Thuzad looked away awkwardly. That probably meant he didn't use his glamour. "So, you are doing the sex on her, just to clarify." Titus asked.

"Yes, we're doing the sex." Kel'Thuzad grumbled. 

"How did that all come about?" Titus asked. Truthfully he was only mildly curious, but it was a good distraction. 

"She recently joined the special resurrection committee. Gandling said she had a lot of promise." Kel'Thuzad said with a shrug, "Cassy told me she wanted to become a lich. We talked about phylactery anchoring methods, one thing led to another…." 

"I'll say." Cassy? Titus pinched the bridge of his nose, and not just because he was imagining the calculus behind it all. "You have to see what's going on here." 

"I have a pretty girlfriend?" 

Admittedly, she was one of the prettier elves in the organization. Titus rolled his eyes. "She's completely nuts- and not in a good way!" 

Kel'Thuzad scoffed and tried to wave him off. "Ridiculous."

"She's obsessed with Arthas and she probably thinks you'll get her access to him. Plus she wants to be a lich. She's just using you." Also she was willing to sleep with him and he had no skin. He left that unsaid, it would just hurt his friend's feelings. "Also she picked the code name 'Deathwhisper' which is lame."

Kel'Thuzad didn't respond right away, instead he looked over at the bud. It was close to blooming, the leaves had unfurled themselves, soon the petals would follow. "I know all that, but, maybe it's alright. We're only having a little fun." He said. 

"Well is it? Fun, I mean." Titus asked. Light knows she's slept her way this far, the least she can do is be good at it. ‘Phylactery construction’ he couldn’t think of a less sexy topic. 

"Not really," Kel'Thuzad said flatly, "she is a handful. I don't think we are very compatible." 

Titus barked a laugh, "Really? You're that out of practice? I always had the impression you and Modera were fairly active."

"It's not that, my new body is a sexual disaster." He said as he slumped his shoulders, "and Cassandra is not very accomodating." 

"She's agreed to sleep with you, what more accomodation can you want." Titus said. He didn't expect to get this much detail into Kel's private life. Usually he held all that information close to his chest. The death knight only found out about his last relationship with the councilwoman by accident. He also found out a few other things from her that the lich did not know. A secret he had been keeping for the last seven years.

He had only wanted to tell him that trading favors, like becoming a lich in exchange for sex, might have bad optics. 

"She doesn't like it when I close my eyes because then the sockets are empty. But then I feel like I'm staring which is awkward."

"Just look at her tits."

"She doesn't have any. I'm too big to do that anyway." Kel'Thuzad said. His true form was almost two feet taller as a result of his resurrection and that wasn't counting the horns. 

Titus thumbed his jawline, stubble was starting to grow in. He didn't need to shave as much now that he was undead so he had fallen out of the habit. He thought for a moment, it sounded like there were some solutions to the lich's problem. "You could take her from behind." He suggested, "I think it's easier to get women to climax in that position." 

Kel'Thuzad shook his head, "Nope. She doesn't like it." 

"Yeah, that's tough."

"She's just very enthusiastic. It was uncomfortable, honestly. I could tell I was hurting her, but she insisted on continuing." Kel'Thuzad said. He rubbed his face, pressing his palms into his eyes, "I even tried to persuade her to let me apply my glamour, to fix the size issue- she said no. She wanted me.”

"Maybe she just wanted to play you up. Make you feel sexy." Titus said, "Cass wants you to like her so she can get what she wants."

"Well, it's too much." Kel'Thuzad replied, "It just makes me feel silly. I already know I look like an unfuckable monster." 

Titus frowned, "Don't be that way, clearly there are some people who appreciate your new look." 

Kel'Thuzad rolled his eyes and made a derisive noise. "I've half a mind to send her Arthas's way just to get her out of my hair." 

"I'm sure he would be appreciative, since it sounds like you've already destroyed her pussy." 

He saw Kel'Thuzad turn bright red. "You know how elves are! I don't have this issue with other humans- you know what nevermind." Kel'Thuzad threw his arms up with a huff and looked back over the smoking city. "I know you didn't call me out here to pick flowers and talk about my sex life."

Titus looked over the city too. A group of gargoyles had just flown over a wall to hunt in the fields. They were peculiar creatures, native to the rocky parts of Northrend's coast. They could petrify their bodies if they were in danger, then revive themselves. Almost like naturally undead animals. 

"It's about Aurius." Titus said, "we had a disagreement." 

"Oh." Kel'Thuzad said with a frown, "I thought he was going to join up." 

"He was, but it fell through." Titus said. He didn't elaborate further. 

The death knight looked over the other side of the hill, towards the valley. It was almost winter, the grass and trees were dead and brown until spring. He didn't know if it would ever be green again. The plague scientists said it would. All this rot would give way to new life.

A new life for everyone.

"What's that over there?" Kel'Thuzad asked. 

Something was kicking up a dust cloud in the distance.

Titus squinted. Then he heard it. A raptor's snarl, a wolf's bay and a kodo's thunder. The Horde. "I think it's whatever killed those Alliance mercs."

Mercenaries from the Undercity came to plunder Stratholm about as much as the Alliance did. However, they usually became tangled up with the Scarlets held up in the Cathedral district which was fine by him. Killed two birds with one stone. This party was most likely going to find treasure there as well. Unfortunately they had spotted the two men on the hill and were coming their way.

Sensing movement in the corner of his eye, Titus turned to find Kel'Thuzad waving at them. "What are you doing?" He asked with a frown.

"I heard if you wave to the horde they will leave you alone." Kel'Thuzad said, "this flower has a few more minutes before it will bloom." 

"Why are you so preoccupied with this thing?" 

"They sell for two hundred gold in Stormwind and twice as much in Orgrimmar." said the lich, "I would rather they leave us alone so we can continue on with our day."

"Do you really think they'll let us walk away with it then?" 

The lich shrugged and watched the strangers approach the hill. They were decked out in some flashy gear. A female orc shaman with lightning crackling around her arms; a troll priestess engulfed in shadows and the biggest tauren either of them had ever seen. 

His fur was black as pitch. Deadly white horns capped with polished steel curved forward out of his spiked helmet. They could recognize the wine-stained steel and crested pauldrons the orcs were so fond of. Armor made special for a high warlord of the horde. Yet his plate was very clean, lacking any knicks or dings from battle.

Kel'Thuzad stepped forward, arms outstretched and greeted them in orcish. The group halted their mounts and regarded him skeptically. "What brings such fine warriors as yourselves so far from the Undercity?" Kel'Thuzad asked. 

His orcish is quite good, Titus thought. It had a lighter tone to it than he thought the language possible. 

The troll leaned forward in her saddle, "We be pick n' herbs. Like that one," she said, gesturing to the lotus, "and we be killin' you Alliance types." 

Kel'Thuzad laughed and shook his head. "You've got it all wrong! We're not with the Alliance- not formally at least." He added quickly, seeing Rivendare's expression, "We humbly hail from Light's Hope, servants of the Argent Dawn." 

"The Dawn, huh?" The orc asked. She dismounted and pointed to Deathcharger. "Why do you have that thing then." 

Kel'Thuzad gave Titus the side-eye which he pointedly ignored. He had been against bringing the horse for this very reason. Titus stuck to his guns and argued Deathcharger was a cut above any other horse and he wouldn't be caught dead in a fight without her. The lich eventually relented. 

"We liberated it. As you can see the city is on fire." Kel'Thuzad said. The other two riders began to dismount as well. While they seemed less interested in fighting, they were beginning to ignore the lich. "We were bringing it back to the chapel when we came upon the lotus. What luck, wouldn't you say?" 

They walked up to the two men and stopped. "We taken' the flower." 

"As you can see I've already claimed this one." Kel'Thuzad said evenly, "We need supplies for our war effort against the Scourge." 

Titus had a hard time hiding his smirk. The idea that they were with the Dawn was about as convincing as two kids in an overcoat. Kel'Thuzad was dressed in the purple of the Kirin Tor, an organization that did not get along with the Argents; Titus certainly didn't look like a paladin. For one, his riding leathers were too nice. 

The tauren snorted and roughly shoved the wizard. Kel'Thuzad was unmoved. He straightened his lapels and scowled at the surprised warrior. Titus quickly stepped between the two and reached for his runeblade but was halted by a gesture from the lich. 

"Listen, I'm just here to pick this flower," said Kel'Thuzad. Titus could feel the ambient temperature drop sharply as the lich let some of his power bleed through. "I don't really want to be bothered so if you walk away now, we'll let you leave with everything you've collected today." 

The shamen and the priest laughed at the request. 

"Maybe we'll just take your haul and your lives instead." The orc said brightly, "how's that for a deal?" Her breath fogged as she finished her sentence. 

The lich shrugged. "Try to keep the warrior in one piece." Kel'Thuzad said in common. With a short gesture the horde warriors were teleported to the bottom of the hill. 

The fight was on!

The warrior didn't waste any time barreling up the hill towards Titus. He unsheathed his runeblade and prepared his counterattack. He had been a talented duelist before becoming a death knight. In undeath he could wield his heavy blade with more grace and finesse than any living warrior.

Darkness crept in the border of his vision, forcing him to blink it away. It was persistent, though. Not enough to hurt him, but it was definitely annoying. He and the lich were both resistant to shadow magic but it could still hinder their movement or cause other complications. "Can you do something about that priest? She's up to some funny business." Titus asked.

Kel'Thuzad was already engaging with the shamen. Titus saw a flash of lightning and felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. The orc had just flung her most powerful attack at the lich. They often did that, blew their whole load on one spell. Usually, it killed or gravely wounded whoever it hit. The only problem: if it missed or didn't go as planned, they were almost completely useless. 

Currently, things were not going as planned. The lich had managed to pull some fancy last second spellwork and 'caught' her lightning. Woops! It crackled around his shoulders and down his other arm. With a grin he redirected it over to the priest, catching her in the abdomen. The shot blew her off her feet, if she wasn't dead she probably wished she was.

Titus's vision cleared instantly, but he had taken his eye off the Tauren for too long. Now he found himself sailing through the air as he took the full force of his charge. He landed hard on his back, if he were alive it would have knocked the wind out of him. He barely had enough time to roll out of the warrior's strike and he was too slow to avoid the follow up as the axe bit into his thigh. 

He grunted, there was a sharp pain in his leg which quickly turned to a dull feeling of wrongness everytime he put weight on it. But he could still stand and move. Being undead had its perks, a living warrior would be disabled without a healer. Back on his feet and ready to fight, Titus saw the Tauren's eyes widen. He had figured out their game. 

The death knight advanced. His strikes were stronger and more precise than the warrior's and soon the Tauren was forced back. Titus was biding his time, waiting for the bull to tire himself out. He fought like more of a berserker than the death knight did, striking out with a flurry of bloodthirsty blows. At this rate it wouldn't be long before he was worked into a proper lather and Titus could kill him with a few choice strikes, per Kel'Thuzad's request. 

The lich meanwhile had dispatched the shamen in a block of ice. He leaned against the orc's frozen tomb and watched the two fighter's circle each other. He shouted something to the Tauren in his native tongue that made his ears flatten against his helmet and rush forward with renewed vigor. 

"Feel free to jump in anytime," Titus said as he parried the Tauren's attack. 

"I’m respecting your duel." 

"There's no need, really."

Titus ducked under a decapitating swing before slamming his pommel into the Tauren's side. He caught the soft parts between his armor, causing the bull to double over and clutch his side. He was about to run him through when his sword glanced off the side of a shield. Titus could see a golden haze surround the warrior. A soft glow enveloped him and the tauren was healed. 

Apparently the troll was not as dead as he thought. 

"Priest." Titus called out. 

Kel'Thuzad looked over at the troll and smirked. The shadows bled off her thin frame and part of her robe were gone revealing a nasty electrical burn. He lazily pushed himself off the ice block to face her.

Something caught the death knight's eye. A flash of tawny fur- it was a druid! And he was stealing the lotus! "Banana!" 

Kel'Thuzad looked over his shoulder, swore, panicked, then did probably the least useful thing a mage could do: he tackled the druid. Titus wasn't sure how good the lich's ground game was, but it probably was not as good as a druid's. He landed on top of the cat with an Oof! The large lion did not care for this and began mauling him as best it could. 

Unfortunately, while Kel'Thuzad was playing grab-ass with the druid Titus had to deal with the warrior and the priest on his own. Alone, a fighter was basically fresh meat. This one, fortunately did not have the skill his gear would suggest. But, any soldier with a healer in their pocket became marginally more dangerous. 

The priest was in a bad way. She had staggered halfway up the hill but could barely keep herself upright. A devilish idea popped into the death knight's head. But he needed to get the perfect angle. The Tauren was at least doing a decent job of keeping himself in between Titus and the Troll. 

He was starting to get a little fed up. Every time he scored a hit on the warrior the priest healed him up. Meanwhile his own healer was doing fuckall to help! Titus heard a surprised yelp and found Kel'Thuzad being shanked in the ‘kidneys’ by some orc cutpurse while trying to hold the lion in a headlock. 

Where do these guys keep coming from?

"Can you please stop fucking around!" Titus hollered. 

He heard some grumbling before he felt the rush of magic pulling towards Kel'Thuzad as his glamour broke. The lich's appearance caused quite a commotion as the horde war party finally realized what was happening. The orc with the daggers stumbled and fell to one knee and the druid found his teeth stuck in the weaves that control the lich's shoulder instead of flesh. 

The warrior was torn, Titus could see he wanted to engage with the lich and pull Kel'Thuzad's attention away from his allies. He was inclined to let him get away, it would probably be easier to kill them all with a well timed ice block. But, no.

"You take your eyes off me again, I'll mount your head to my wall." Titus taunted in his awful orcish. The Tauren reacted very poorly to this and he heard Kel'Thuzad laugh. 

"How risque!"

"What do you mean?" Titus asked. He was dodging axes like his life depended on it now. The lich meanwhile seemed like he was having a fun time trying to tie down the druid who was attempting to run away. Everytime it shifted he threw off the frost and rime ensnaring his movements only to be hit again with the chilling magic. 

"Best not to repeat it." Kel'Thuzad replied.

"I'll keep that in min-argh!" The Tauren finally managed to get a good hit in. The axe bit deep into his shoulder, cutting through his left clavicle and two ribs. Black ichor oozed out of the wound smearing the weapons with the poisonous stuff. For a living warrior it would be a fatal trike, but for him it was just a deadly inconvenience. It was definitely going to leave a mark. 

His arm hung uselessly at his side which made life much more difficult for him. Titus began to think he might wake up on a cold slab in some necropolis if this went on any longer. But then- his opening! It was the perfect time to strike. He flung his good arm wide and cast one of the few spells he managed to master.

A purple tendril reached out and ensnared the priest, with a jerk she was pulled between the two combatants mid swing. She gasped as the axe bit into the back of her skull. Blood spurt from where her partner struck her and she slumped forward. Dead. Killed by the blow that was meant to finish off Titus.

Titus kicked the troll into the warrior and spat a triumphant laugh right in his face. The stunt cost him his runblade but, even if he were about to meet a temporary end, it will have been worth it. He stood unsteadily and watched the bull reach back to finish him off. Titus closed his eyes and wondered if his son still lingered in the inbetween. 

But the blow never came. Titus heard the rasp of metal on metal and a gagging sound. He opened his eyes. Kel'Thuzad's chains were wrapped around the warrior's neck, he was as good as dead. 

The Tauren fell to his knees and weakly grabbed at the death knight's collar. Titus watched him struggle for a moment before batting his hands away. He left the warrior to die, sidestepping him on the way to the lich. The second orc lay dead, his throat was in ribbons and the druid had a large hole in his chest from a frostbolt. 

Kel'Thuzad was covered in blood and had conjured a sphere of water which he was using to clean his claws. Titus watched him for a moment. Truthfully it had taken him a while to get used to his transformation. Julian Rivendare had been one of Kel'Thuzad's patrons for as long as he could remember. The wizard was a mainstay at their holiday parties, he was almost part of their family. His favorite uncle even, unrelated, of course. Now he had been turned into this monstrous creature that spoke with his voice. It was... unnerving. 

Kel'Thuzad looked up and caught him staring. Although the lich was wearing a shirt under his robes, he could still see the mists in his chest swirling about the top of his rib cage. That meant he was probably feeling anxious about something. Titus knew he could be self conscious about his new appearance. He pointed to a spot on his own jaw, "You have a little something." 

The lich grunted and seemed to relax a bit as he cleaned his face. "That was clever, what you did to the Troll." Kel'Thuzad said. His voice was colder and rougher without the glamour. 

Titus made a noncommittal sound. He felt drained now that the fighting was over. His arm hung limp at his side. "I wouldn't have to be clever had you just helped me." Titus replied, "it wasn't clever either. I was about to have my head chopped off." 

"Perhaps. Why don't you take off your armor, let me get a look at the damage." Kel'Thuzad said. 

He huffed and began to fumble with the buckles on his jerkin. It wasn't very easy with one hand. After a minute with minimal progress Kel'Thuzad dropped to one knee to help unfasten the armor. He pulled it away from his wound and made a thinking sound. Titus scowled. The lich was too gentle, it made him feel like a child. It reminded him of his father helping him with his riding clothes. 

The death knight looked away while the examination took place. The thought of that black ichor being inside his body made his stomach twist. Kel'Thuzad unwrapped the runeweave strip he used to bind the bones of his hand together and cleaned the area. The lich's touch irritated him too. The magical spells and weaves which animated him seemed to wake and overstimulate the closer they were. It made him feel feverish and light headed. 

Eventually he couldn't take any more. "Can you fix it or not?" He asked irritably. 

Kel'Thuzad didn't look up, he was still trying to think of a good way to secure the shoulder. "Of course, but not here. We'll have to pop over to Naxxramas in a bit. I want to see what those interlopers had stashed away in their saddlebags first." 

"You and these fucking flowers. Did you even get the one that cat was trying to steal?"

"Oh, well, no." Kel'Thuzad said awkwardly, "it was smashed in the scrum." 

Titus didn't know why, but he was furious. He slapped the lich's hands away and stomped over to the discarded blade. "What's the matter?" Kel'Thuzad asked. 

"Wh- look at me!" He shouted. 

"I told you it's a simple fix."

"You can't fix me! Not this- I," Titus's voice cracked, he turned away. Now it was all going to come out. "It's Aurius." 

He started then hesitated, the words wouldn't come. 

"He's dead." Kel'Thuzad said.

Titus turned, "You knew?" 

Kel'Thuzad nodded. He walked back towards a piece of fallen masonry from the ruined tower and sat. Titus followed close behind and took a seat next to him on the cold stone. "I hear a lot of gossip." 

Titus grunted and looked down at his lap. The ichor was still weeping out of the wound in his thigh, leaving his leggings shiny and black. He clenched the one good fist he had. "I killed him, my little golden boy." 

It was quiet for a long moment, the only sounds came from Kel'Thuzad's chains clinking together as they floated around. Finally, "Do you want to talk about what happened?" 

"There was a raiding party. The Dawn...they paraded him out like some sick taunt." Titus said, his voice wavered, "He couldn't even lift his arms up." 

Aurius had looked so small from atop Deathcharger. Seeing him, so thin in his ill-fitting plate, he looked like a child. The sight of it all drove Titus into a rage. For the first time he brought the fury of the scourge down on the assembled invaders. Aurius tried his best to keep the others alive, but his spirit was too weak to call upon the light. By the time Titus had slaughtered the pests Aurius had succumbed to the disease. 

At the end of it all he was left holding a corpse. 

"I didn't even get a chance..." Titus said. His eyes burned like he might cry, but his body could only produce more of the ichor. He felt Kel'Thuzad wrap an arm around his shoulder. He hid his face away, embarrassed that he might look like some broken hearted bell the morning after the ball. 

"It'll be alright." Kel'Thuzad said. Titus nodded. They sat quietly for a little while longer until the lich gave him a little squeeze before setting off to search through the group's things. 

The wolf and raptor had long since run away, but the kodo lingered, grazing on the dried grass. Kel'Thuzad approached it slowly, saying something reassuring to the creature in the Tauren language. It must have worked because it let him scratch it behind the ears and rummage around in its saddlebags. Titus heard some sounds of discovery and looked up to find Kel'Thuzad leading the beast towards him. His jaws were parted a bit in a lich-y sort of smile. 

"Look what I found."

He stopped in front of the death knight and opened the bag with a flourish. It was practically bursting with plants, bushels of plaguebloom, dreamfoil, weeping violets and dried sungrass- they had stumbled on a little alchemy shop! But that wasn't all. Kel'Thuzad pulled out a bouquet of black lotus, there must have been at least twenty of them all tied together. He twirled them in front of his face with a skeleton's grin.

Titus wiped his face clean. It was hard to get excited about plants. "You're rich." He said glumly. 

Kel'Thuzad tilted his head and let the flowers drop away with a sigh. "Why do you think I drug you halfway across the north all morning?" Kel’Thuzad asked. 

"You like picking flowers and you wanted company." 

"Well, yes," he admitted, "but I need to gather reagents for a special resurrection." 

"For your girlfriend." 

"They're for Aurius."

"Really?" 

"Well, six of them are. I'll keep one for your shoulder." said the lich. 

Rivendare lowered his gaze and his expression softened. He had no idea that the lich would go so far out of his way for his son. "Are you sure? That's so much just for…"

Kel'Thuzad waved him off. "There will always be more flowers. You only have one son. Family is important after all.”

Titus was touched. He should feel happy, excited even. So why did he feel this guilty knot in his stomach? Titus thought about how he had repaid the wizard's kindness over the years. About what Modera had told him. The secret he was keeping.

"Kel?" Titus said looking up. Kel'Thuzad's eyes were unfocused, his mind was far away communing with the lich king. The death knight sighed and looked back down at his hands. It wasn't the time. 

"Thank you."


End file.
